An independent review has found that employees of the Maine fire marshal’s office have continued to have concerns about their work culture, which will require sustained effort to overcome.
The Maine Legislature’s oversight arm, the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability, released the results of its review of the fire marshal’s office July 7. Its report concluded by asking the commissioner of public safety and the new fire marshal to regularly update lawmakers about how they go about creating an “appropriate workplace climate” in the future.
The review came after the Bangor Daily News wrote in February about how staff at the agency responsible for fire education, building inspections and arson investigations had complained over the years about leadership and working conditions. Fire investigators described being rushed to complete their work, feeling as if they were pushed to find crimes were committed, and said they found dealing with management more fraught than responding to deadly fires.
Because of this, some worried about Richard McCarthy, the former assistant fire marshal, being nominated in February to serve as the agency’s next leader. In response, Rep. Suzanne Salisbury, D-Westbrook, and Sen. Pinny Beebe-Center, D-Rockland, who lead the legislative criminal justice committee, asked OPEGA in March to conduct an official review.
The two said they had talked to former and current fire marshal’s employees who “expressed deep reservations” about confirming someone who had been a leader “amidst a workplace culture rife with misogyny, lack of care for fire victims and unresponsiveness to employee complaints and community needs.”
The Maine Senate later confirmed McCarthy as the state fire marshal after he told lawmakers he would address the agency’s morale issues and strive to build a more cohesive agency. On Wednesday he didn’t respond to a question about whether he had adjusted his approach given the now-public complaints.
Shannon Moss, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety, which oversees the fire marshal’s office, said the agency received the OPEGA report on Friday and is “currently reviewing the findings and recommendations.” It will draft a response to the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee in the coming months.
McCarthy and Michael Sauschuck, the public safety commissioner, “look forward to working with their team to address any and all concerns,” Moss said.
As part of its review, OPEGA interviewed 33 of 39 current employees of the fire marshal’s office, among others. In their confidential interviews, some employees described a hostile work environment where they believed people were retaliated against for union grievances, treated inconsistently and even targeted. Others said the workplace was not necessarily hostile but dysfunctional, “with many toxic interpersonal relationships,” including between managers as well as the rank and file, according to OPEGA’s report.
OPEGA also discovered that employees remain concerned about alleged statements made by some employees and management in the past that were “entirely inappropriate in a workplace environment,” according to the report. “In the context of concerns about misogyny, one of the highly offensive statements, if true, concerned a female fire victim.”
The report does not go into detail to avoid revealing sources.
Other takeaways from the report:
— Emphasis on law enforcement role. “Some investigators stated that there is an ‘over-emphasis’ on law enforcement, as demonstrated, for example, by being fully equipped for what they described as any remotely possible law enforcement contingency while not necessarily having all the equipment needed for fire investigation itself. Specifically … not all investigators had ‘scene lights’ for working a fire scene at night, yet they had been issued two ballistic vests and a suppressor for a tactical rifle, and recently were being invited to apply for membership on the State Police Tactical Team.”
— Pressure to arrest. “Some investigators said they feel pressure to find a villain. Others disagreed.”
— Lack of accountability. “Several stated that management expects employees to follow policy, but does not always follow policy themselves.”
— Inadequate staffing. “On the investigations side, we were told, they typically attempt to send more than one investigator to fire scenes but this is often not possible with such a small, geographically dispersed staff. Some felt this creates a safety issue at times as well as not being compliant with the [National Fire Protection Association] guidelines.” … “From both inspections and office staff, there were issues of workload imbalance.”
— Unresponsiveness. “A number of personnel expressed dissatisfaction with the performance and responsiveness of the Human Resources (HR) staffing,” including during “all phases of the review and resolution of an employee complaint.” In addition, “a number of personnel in Inspections asserted that management has not always followed through with adequate responses and resolutions when issues of concern have been brought forward.”
— Outside pressure. “Some inspectors [who make sure hospitals, nursing homes, daycares, boarding homes, mental health agencies and other buildings meet fire codes] spoke of a type of perceived pressure from politically connected individuals they saw as potentially obtaining priority or special treatment.”
— Dismissiveness of inspectors. “Some stated that, with some exceptions, the culture among investigations management has become dismissive of inspectors and that inspectors are often not called to fire investigations. It was further stated that an investigation could determine the cause and origin of a fire, but without the inspector’s specialized knowledge of fire codes, there is a possibility that landlords responsible for building safety may not be subjected to the full range and measure of accountability.”
— Stress of the job. “With respect to the psychological stress of the job, witnessing physical and emotional trauma as well as death repeatedly, a few investigators contended that other law enforcement entities have adequate psychological help available, but, despite requests, the Fire Marshal’s office does not. Despite this, many investigators joined inspectors and office staff in saying that the most stressful parts of their job is not the mission-related activities, but rather, toxic interpersonal relationships, distrust of management, or employee resistance to change.”
OPEGA also asked interviewees about their view of McCarthy, the new fire marshal. A majority of inspectors and office support staff expressed confidence in his “desire and ability to make what they view as positive change,” according to the report. The response of investigators was more varied, “and was generally perhaps hopeful, but also with a ‘wait and see’ attitude.”
